Mizzima News

Leaders from the United States, United Kingdom and France yesterday made the best of a gathering of international leaders in Switzerland to express their continued concern about events transpiring in Burma.

The statement, coauthored by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, reads in part, "We would not live up to our values if we ignored Burma's plight." All three are in Davos, Switzerland, attending the 2008 World Economic Forum.

"The fact that we have chosen to write about this issue, with so many competing priorities, should underline the strength of our governments' determination to support the people of Burma in their pursuit of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future," states the joint declaration.

The triumvirate took advantage of the high profile event, attended by a number of influential world leaders, to again appeal to the international community to step up its pressure on the Burmese regime. "We call on all those attending the World Economic Forum to demonstrate that, while the regime may be indifferent to the suffering of the Burmese people, the world is not."

Reiterating their call for the release of political prisoners, a genuine dialogue and respect for human rights, the missive states that the regime has shown no desire to work with the international community toward these goals since the unrest that gripped the country four months ago. "Several months on, we find the regime has met none of these demands."

In a follow-up question at a State Department briefing yesterday in Washington, D.C., Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey told reporters the joint statement "was an opportunity when there was a critical mass, if you will, of world leaders and influential people together in one place to simply remind them of our united position on this and to hope to encourage additional pressure to be placed on the regime to change their behavior."

The declaration of support for Burma comes as United States Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia returned this week from a tour of the region to rally support for increased pressure against Burma's ruling generals, and just prior to this weekends arrival of the European Union Envoy to Burma to the region.